Nicole was lost in a storm of sensation, her body responding to Jared’s in a way that was almost frightening, a hard knot of pleasure building deep inside her. But when Jared’s hands began to explore her body, and he began to kiss her neck, she came back to reality. The man she was kissing was involved with someone else and she wasn’t that kind of woman. Breaking the kiss, she stepped back from Jared and tried to stop the throbbing deep inside her.
She opened her mouth to say something, but couldn’t think of a single thing to say about what had just happened between them. Dreaming of it was one thing, but the real thing had been so much more intense that her brain had stopped working, the power of speech lost to her as desire rushed thought her. Even in her limited experience, she’d never met a man who could make her fell like Jared just had, and it was disturbing as well and intoxicating. Rather than embarrass herself, she turned around and practically ran into the house, went straight to her room, shut and locked the door.
Jared surfaced slowly from the fog of pleasure that had overcome him when he’d hugged Nicole. He hadn’t meant to kiss her, but when he’d looked down into her brown eyes, he’d been unable to stop himself, her luscious mouth enticing him to do what he shouldn’t have. Now watching her walk, well more like run, into the house, he wasn’t the slightest bit sorry he’d done it. He’d been thinking about kissing her since the moment they’d met, and it had been even more wonderful than he’d imagined it would be.
Examining his feelings again, he found that instead of feeling bad that he’d kissed her, he was glad. It was the first thing he’d done in a long time that he hadn’t thought through. For his entire life, he’d stopped to consider the consequences of everything he’d done, and it felt good for once just to let impulse lead him. The only thing he was sorry for was that he hadn’t kissed her sooner, but then again, she probably wouldn’t have let him kiss her before.
It came as a shock to him that he’d changed so much in only a few weeks, the old Jared being pushed aside by a man he didn’t recognize, but that might just emerge a much better one than the old one. The truth was that he had Nicole to thank for that, the day at the stream had opened his eyes to what had been around him all along, but he’d been too self-absorbed to notice, brought the problem right to his door step. She’d made him understand that the damage done miles away from where he lived could still creep into his life and the lives of everyone around him.
He made his way to his bedroom thinking that everything would look clearer in the morning, but when he got to the door, he heard the television on inside and realized that Gina was on the other side waiting for him. Stopping in front of the door, he thought about what it would be like to go inside and promptly turned around and looked for an open bedroom. When he found one, he stripped off his clothes and climbed into bed, sleep coming almost immediately when he closed his eyes.
Gina heard footsteps coming down the hall and immediately perked up, but when those footsteps stopped at the door paused then went away she knew that she was in trouble. Something had happened on the trail, and she was pretty sure she knew what. That woman, Nicole must have gotten her claws into Jared, taken advantage of him when he was vulnerable. There was no other explanation, now she’d have to work fast if she was going to keep Jared by her side.
He’d said that he’d found something that might bring Seth down, but he refused to tell her what it was. She tried to think what it might be, but all she could think about was how much Jared had changed in those two weeks he’d been gone. Instead of bringing someone to task over the treatment she’d received, he’d gotten mad at her, a clear sign that something was wrong with him.
Now it was up to her to finish what they’d started, but the problem was that she didn’t know how. That was when she spotted Jared’s phone on the dresser, she jumped out of bed and grabbed it, sure that whatever he’d found would be in it. She started with his documents, then moved on to his emails, amazed as she searched his phone that he didn’t have it protected with passwords, but glad. It wasn’t until she got to his pictures that she hit the jack pot, an entire series of pictures of what looked like scientific papers, maps, and schematics for the mine.
Not sure what she was going to do with the information, she sent herself copies of the pictures and put the phone back on the dresser. While the night hadn’t gone quite the way she’d planned it, it was clear to her what she needed to do, in the end Jared would be happy that she’d stepped in. So happy that he’d finally be forced to admit that she was the one for him, the one who could help him make his dreams come true, and she’d be on the way to the governor’s mansion.
Chapter 8
Three days later, they were back on the tail. Jared spent most of those three days in Seth’s office, going over the very book he’d stolen pictures of that day in camp. He felt guilty for that, but the pictures were deleted from his phone and no one would ever know he took them. It had come as a surprise to him when Seth had offered the book after he’d returned the diary, but they’d talked for almost an hour about the diary, and all it had contained.
Jared had promised himself as he took the book from Seth that he was done trying to best his brother, he’d spent his entire life tying to do just that and it had gained him nothing. Instead of fighting Seth he was going to help him, he had no idea how, but he’d figure it out eventually. First though, he had a lot to learn and a short amount of time to get it done in, and Nicole wasn’t ever far from his thoughts.
He’d strongly advised Gina to go home, she hadn’t been pleased, but had packed her bags, kissed him on the cheek and driven off. Before she’d driven off she’d hugged him and whispered, “Don’t worry I’ll take care of everything.” He’d been so happy to see her go without a fight that he hadn’t paid much attention to what she’d said, but later it occurred to him that she might be up to something on her own.
When he’d really thought about it, he’d dismissed the idea, sure that she wasn’t smart enough to do much damage, then he’d turned his thoughts to the trip and never thought about it again. But now that they were on the trail and he had time to think, he began to worry again, Gina was just the kind of woman to do something stupid, something that could ruin the progress he’d made with his brother, and the project he was beginning to care a lot about.
Although he still had a lot of emotion to work through, now that Seth had given him access to all the information on both the reclamation and the renewable energy he had to admit that Seth had a plan that might just work. There were a lot of things that could go wrong, but he’d put a great deal of time and preparation into alternative solutions, contingency plans that were as solid as the original.
It wouldn’t be easy to go back to Juneau and present a completely different point of view than he had before he left, but he knew that he could no longer stand behind what the men who were supporting him stood for. It was time that Alaska moved into the future, and the future was renewable energy. He’d just have to make them understand that there was money to be made in ways that wouldn’t harm the environment. It might cost him the governor’s office, but after what he’d seen and read over the last few weeks, he could do nothing else.
But he still had a few weeks before he had to go back, a few more weeks to solidify his position, to prepare for one of the hardest things he’d ever done in his life, to turn his back on everything his father had believed in. And he was going to do it in a very public way, opposing the men who held all the power in the state, men whom he used to consider his friends. He was going to test that friendship, push it to its limits and see who stayed by his side.
Nicole watched as Jared used a pair of tweezers to pluck a clump of hair off the branch of a bush, then put it into a specimen bag and seal it. Then he carefully labeled it, recorded it in the log book, and put it into his backpack. Over the last week he’d become almost as skilled as she was in the field, absorbing information quickly, becoming more excited with each new skill he learned. Best of all the
new Jared was a team player, helping in camp by doing his share, and suddenly adopting a much more laid-back attitude about life.
Except for his anger about how badly the land had been damaged, there was little of the old Jared left, instead she’d spent the week with a man who was charming and funny. It was the last thing she expected, and made her desire for him all that much stronger, especially when he smiled at her after he’d made one of his teasing remarks. After he’d kissed her that night on the deck she’d avoided him until they’d left on this trip, unable to face him after the power of that kiss, knowing that what she felt was special.
When they’d seen each other again, Jared had acted as if nothing had happened, which hadn’t surprised her but still hurt a little bit. She understood how it had happened, he’d been hurting and looking for comfort and she’d been there. To him it had probably been nothing more than a kiss, but to her it had been so much more, a definite sign that she cared more about him than was a good idea.
Now watching him, she wished that he was a different man, a man she could have been with, it would have made a romantic story. But that wasn’t reality, Jared was the man he was, and she was the woman she was, the two of them together were an impossibility, and the sooner she accepted that the better off she’d be. Still when he smiled at her like he was just then, her heart swelled, and her loins throbbed with desire.
When he’d packed up his backpack, he headed over to where she was sitting under a tree. He offered her his hand and said, “I don’t know about you but I’m starving. That was the last section of our grid, let’s go back to camp.”
Nicole took his hand and got to her feet, trying to let go quickly, but Jared kept her hand in his as they started down the trail. When they’d begun loading up the four-wheelers for the trip, Jared had struggled out of the house with a giant cooler, and then gone back for several boxes. He’d loaded them up while everyone watched, then turned to face the group.
“I’m not eating any more dehydrated food.” He’d declared getting on his four-wheeler.
“What exactly are you planning to do then?” Sam asked, wondering who Jared thought would cook all the food he’d brought.
“I’m planning on cooking.” Jared said, then started up his four-wheeler.
He’d stayed true to his word, making dinner every night since they’d left, real food that in no way resembled what they’d eaten on the last trip. That night when they sat down to dinner, Sam was half way through his second bowl of stew, and happily thinking about a third.
“Jared, I have to hand it to you, this is about the best stew I’ve ever tasted.” Sam said, shaking his head. “I never pictured you as a cook.”
Jared let the praise sink in, amazed that it meant as much to him as it did, but he’d worked hard to feed them well and it was nice to have that recognized. “Well, I can’t take all the credit. Martha might have given me a few tips.”
“All I know is that this is much better than dehydrated food. Thank you for being stubborn.” Julie said, laughing.
Soon they’d all joined in her laughter, not sure why it was so funny, but enjoying the emotional release it brought. It had been a hard week, one disappointment after another as they traveled from site to site, and fighting the weather the entire time hadn’t helped either. Rain had been plaguing them every afternoon, chasing them into their tents long before they got their work finished.
“Now that we’ve had a good laugh, I guess we better talk about where we are on the survey. Thanks to the weather we’re about two days behind.” Sam had grown serious.
“And we need to be at the mine a few days before they shut it down.” Julie added, “At the rate we’re going here that’s not going to happen.”
They were all silent for a few moments, then Nicole spoke up. “I could stay behind and finish up, you don’t need me at the mine.”
“Not by yourself, you’re not.” Jared immediately jumped in. “I’ll stay with you and help.”
“But I thought you wanted to be at the mine.” Julie didn’t think she was comfortable with leaving Nicole and Jared alone. She’d seen the way he’d been looking at her friend and didn’t like it at all.
“I do but this is important too. If I stay and help we’ll only be a few days behind you and it’s not safe for Nicole to stay alone.”
“Well, we’ve got another day before we have to decide, let’s see how things go tomorrow.” Sam said, sensing the tension in his wife, but not sure why.
The weather didn’t improve the next day, an afternoon storm chased them into their tents again, and when it was over it was too late in the day to work any longer. “I just don’t see what choice we have, we need to finish this grid and we can’t be in two places at once.” Sam said, when Julie was still against the idea of leaving Nicole and Jared behind.
“Let me talk to Nicole before you make a decision.” Julie had voiced her concerns to Sam and while he could see her point of view, he was sure that Jared would never do anything to hurt Nicole, but he nodded his head just to make Julie happy.
Julie found Nicole sitting by the fire writing in her notebook, Jared was making dinner on the cook stove he’d brought, far enough away that he couldn’t hear them. She sat quietly until Nicole was done, then cleared her throat, as close as they were they’d never had a discussion like the one they were about to have, and Julie was a little nervous. But Nicole knew why Julie was there and started the conversation before Julie could.
“Is it that obvious?” She asked, getting right to the point. “I didn’t miss the look on your face when we started talking about staying behind.”
“I’m just worried about you.” Julie said, “I know you haven’t had much experience with men and Jared’s not your normal man. No matter how he seems right now, don’t forget that he’s a man that’s been used to having his way no matter what the cost. That comes both from his money and his position in society, and sometimes people like that have a way of draining people like us. They don’t think the same way as we do.”
Nicole thought about Julie’s words for a long time, “I see what you’re trying to say, but Julie, I don’t know if I can stop this or if I want to. I’ve never felt this way before, I don’t think I can resist exploring it.” Nicole paused, the truth of her words sinking in. “I know I’ll probably get hurt in the end, but I think that’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
Julie understood all too well what Nicole was feeling, the thrill of taking a risk on something you knew was wrong, but that you wanted so bad the risk seemed worth it. It hadn’t been that long ago that she’d had to take a risk with Sam and it had worked out better than she could have ever imagined. If Nicole wanted to take that same risk, who was she to stop her.
“Well, no matter what happens, just remember that I’m your friend. If you need to talk, I’ll always be there for you.” Julie said, giving Nicole a hug.
Nicole was surprised that Julie had let it go so easily, “That’s it?”
“Yep, you deserve a little happiness and romance in your life. Just remember to enjoy each day, don’t think about the future, it’ll come on its own and when it does you’ll deal with what it brings just like you always have. The only difference now is that you have friends to back you up if you need it.”
Jared looked up from his notebook towards a rustling in the trees then smiled when Nicole parted the branches and walked through. It had been two days since Sam and Julie had gone to the mine, two long and exhausting days but he felt more alive than he had in his entire life. He wasn’t sure if it was the fresh air and hard work or the woman striding toward him, a woman that he wanted so badly it was difficult to sleep at night knowing she was one feet away from him.
But they’d been carefully keeping their distance from one another, both too unsure of what was happening between them to make the first move. Nicole wasn’t sure if Jared felt the same attraction that she did, and Jared knew that Nicole wasn’t the usual kind of woman he got involved with. He wante
d her with a ferocity that scared him, but it was more than just a physical longing, it had become an emotional longing that he was unequipped to deal with.
When Nicole got closer, he saw that she had a worried look on her face, so he got up to meet her. “What’s wrong?”
“I stopped by camp to get some extra vials, and the satellite phone was flashing.” Nicole said, then paused slightly out of breath from her climb up the hill.
“That can’t be good.”
“Well, it’s not terrible, but it looks like we need to get on the move. Seth called to say that there’s a huge storm brewing out in the ocean and it’s headed this way.”
“How bad is it going to be?” Jared said, heading back up to pack up his backpack.
“Lots of rain and lightning.” Nicole said, looking to the skies that were still a clear blue with only a few puffy clouds drifting by.
“Doesn’t look like it.” Jared said, thinking the same thing she was.
“No, we have to go. This would be a terrible place to get caught in this kind of storm. Seth sent me coordinates for a cave he said would be easy to get to from here, but it’s about six miles from here.” Nicole pushed any thought about ignoring Seth’s instructions from her mind.
It was a good thing she did, by the time they broke camp and got on the trail, the skies had turned dark and the air had become heavy with moisture. Gusts of wind brought the smell of rain as they made their way through the forest, and Nicole began to worry that they weren’t going to beat the storm. The rain began not long after that, but they pushed on, only stopping long enough to put on their rain gear.
Nicole managed to hold it together until the lightening began, huge streaks of white that filled the sky quickly followed by deafening claps of thunder that told her the storm was right on top of them. She managed to keep herself calm, but only after Jared yelled to her that they were less than a mile away from the cave. Of course, that mile proved to be the longest they’d traveled so far, twisting and turning up the side of a mountain making Nicole feel like she was a perfect target for the lightening.
Have My Twins Page 8